carebearess

We are going to Europe for 3 weeks in July for our honeymoon. It will be my first time there. My fiance has been all over Europe twice. This is what we have booked already, and we need help with the rest of the itinerary. So far we have:

3 days in London
6 days in Paris
Overnight train to Munich

We're not sure how many days to spend in Munich. We know we also want to go to Vienna and Rome. We also want to see Salzburg and Budapest, if possible. How many days should we spend in Munich? Is Salzburg a day trip or should we stay for a few days before we head to Vienna? We plan on flying home from Rome.

We are in our late 30s. We enjoy culture and food, not so much party animals but do like to have a drink somewhere to relax after a long day.

Michael

If you give yourselves 3 days in each of the additional major cities listed (Munich, Vienna, Budapest and Rome), that's 12 days to add to the 9 days already allocated to London and Paris. That is a little tight in that it does not take into account travel time between the cities.

annhig

3 weeks = 21 days = 20 nights - is that what you've got?

and the "days" you already have accounted for in London and Paris, are they days or nights?

it could make sense to go to Salzburg from Munich, and onto Vienna, thence to Venice [you don't mention it, but by rail it's on the way and it may not be there much longer; it is a most beautiful place to visit on a honeymoon] and Rome. but, i don't think you've got long enough to fit it all in:

Day 1 - arrive London. stay 3 nights
Day 4 - eurostar to Paris. [book as soon as booking opens for your dates to get the best prices] Stay 5 nights
Day 9 - day in Paris, leave by overnight train to Muncih.
Day 10 - arrive Munich. Stay 3 nights
Day 13 - train to Salzburg. stay 2 nights
Day 15 - train to Vienna. stay 3 nights
Day 18 - train to Venice....oh Darn it, I've run out of time.

so you don't have time to do all of this unless you are up for a series of one night stands which given you've opted for 6 days in Paris doesn't look like your style. you could go straight from Salzburg to Venice - it takes between 6-7 hours with one change.

A very good place to play with cross-border train timetables is bahn.de.

and congratulations, BTW!

PalenQ

Yup www.bahn.de/en the German Railways web schedule site has rail schedules for all of Europe and you can book your Paris to Munich overnight train there and if you book early and do not want a private compartment you can get a deep discounted fare of perhaps 60 euros - much less than full fare.

If you are going to all the places annhig lists as her potential itinewrary - practical if you want to end in Venice then for a rundown on European trains and possible railpasses such as the Eurail Select Pass valid in France, Germany, Austria and Italy check these superb IMO sites: www.budgeteuropetravel.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.seat61.com - the latter has great info on discounted tickets that may be the cheapest if you want to book in stone months in advance - as they are sold in limited numbers and cannot usually be changed nor refunded.

When looking at passes if you are over 25 years of age then they are automatically first class which IME of decades of incessant European rail travel has significant benefits over 2nd class - especially if hauling around (typically) way too much luggage - less seats in first class rail car so more room for luggage and IME usually ample empty seats - in Germany and Austria you can hop any train anytime with a pass and always find empty seats IME in first class but not always in 2nd class.

If you want to see Rome to I would drop Vienna and put the 3 days or 4 into Rome.

There is also an overnight train running between Munich/Salzburg or Vienna and Venice or Florence or Rome.

For Eurostar discounted tickets or regular fare ones check the official site: www.eurostar.com and again the early bird doth get the proverbial worm - just show up and you'll maybe pay $100 p.p. or so more than booking really early.

janisj

annhig's calculation is correct - if you mean slightly more than 3 weeks. If your entire trip is three weeks/21 days - then you'd really only have 19 days on the ground (accounting for travel to/from Europe)

So how many days total are you talking about?

annhig

yes, to make it clear, I was suggesting substituting Venice for Vienna and then going onto Rome to finish your trip. like this:

Day 1 - arrive London. stay 3 nights
Day 4 - eurostar to Paris. [book as soon as booking opens for your dates to get the best prices] Stay 5 nights
Day 9 - day in Paris, leave by overnight train to Muncih.
Day 10 - arrive Munich. Stay 3 nights
Day 13 - train to Salzburg. stay 2 nights
Day 15 - train to Venice - stay 3 nights
Day 18 - train to Rome - stay 3 nights
Day 21 - fly home.

you could squeeze in another stop, but at the expense of somewhere else, or your extended stay in Paris.

PalenQ

I like annhig's latest but would tweek it by adding a day to London - with jet lag the first day you may only have two days - at least one more and take one off Paris - six days is more than enough for the average traveler

I'd take one day off Venice and put it in Rome where there is much more to see and do and the city is much larger with sights dispersed over a larger area than Venice.

consider taking the overnight train to Venice to save on a long daytime train ride (though a very scenic one!)

annhig

I'd take one day off Venice and put it in Rome where there is much more to see and do and the city is much larger with sights dispersed over a larger area than Venice>>

i'm going to disagree with PalenQ here [not for the first time, hey, Pal?]

3 nights really means only 2 days in most cases. You can see quite a lot of Venice in 2 days, far more than you can see in just one, if that makes sense. Whereas there is so much to do in Rome, that whether you spend 3,4, or 5 days there makes very little difference - you are hardly going to scratch the surface.

and if there's a choice between a lovely scenic daytime train ride, and an overnight train, I'd take the scenic ride every time.

PalenQ

actually many people I talk to find Venice tedious because of the tourist hoards descending on it. Rome with much more turf is not so inundated by tourists in a small area. Of course you can get off the beaten track in Venice but relatively few do - sticking to the often elbow to elbow gauntlet in and around St Mark's Square.

So we again disagree - that we disagree on some things is one thing we can agree upon!

Cheers - may the rabbits not eat your veggies this year!

janisj

A very large % of those tourist hoards are day trippers who leave between 4 and 5PM.

Venice is 100% honeymoon territory - IMO much more than Rome (though Rome is fine too)

StCirq

I agree. Venice = honeymoon.

bvlenci

In Venice, even in the daylight hours, it's very easy to get away from the tourist hordes, who mostly shuffle along the overly beaten path between St. Mark's Square and the Rialto Bridge.

bvlenci

Where to snip a night or add a night depends very much on your individual interests. If you tell us what you enjoy most, we can give you much better informed advice.

coral22

I was going to suggest taking a day from Paris and putting it with Rome but after rereading the trip is in July, I think Rome should be left at 3. I think the trip is big city heavy and very hectic, especially after a busy wedding. I do like Venice for you to be near some water and a beach for a break.

I also think flipping the order and starting in Rome and work your way up to cooler weather would help.The last time we were in Rome it was July and it was brutal. Congratulations!

PalenQ

Venice is yes the ultimate honeymoon place - especially some quieter parts of town - on a canal at night in the moonlight...